Closure for collapsible tubes



July 25, 1933. D. E. DUNLOP 1,919,712

CLOSURE FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Filed April 9. 1952 'IN V EN TOR.

By M

ATTORNEYESI.

Patented July 25, 1933 ED STATE i mam DONALD E. DUNtor, orsAiv FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA ctosunn FOB ooLLArsiBtn TUBES A licationfiled A rils, 1932. Serial no. 604,330.

My invention relates to improvements in closures for collapsible tubes, and it consists of thecombinations, constructions and. arrangements hereinafter described and ,5 claimed. "J I I H An object of my invention is to provide a closure or cover for collapsible tubes in which the cap forthe tube opening is carriedby a lever, the lever in turn beinghinged to the cover and having its free end yieldingly heldin a notch in the cover when the cap is 'in closed position. The lever is made of spring material, and'when it is in closed position, it will exert a yielding force against the cap for holding it over the outlet opening of the tube.

The top of the tube is provided with an elongated cover. which may be secured to the body of the tube or be an integral part thereof. The cover is elong'atedin order. to accommodate the long arm of the lever, thus providing a greater amount of resiliency by reason of its length and permitting it to be more readily swung into the notched end of.

the cover. I

' The mouth of the tube and the bearing for the lever are inclined at an angle in order to permit the handle or lever to swing away from the body of the tube when the handle is swung from closed to open'positions. The elongated cover also provides a more flat side and co-operates with the inclined bearing for giving freedom to the handle. does away with the usual threaded cap.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly 7 pointed out in the appended claims. My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this ap-.

'plication, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device shown operatlvely applied to a collapsible tube v I Figure 2 is a view taken at right anglesto that shown in Figure 1 Figure 3 isa top planview of the device; Figure 4 shows the device in open position; and 59 Figure 5 is a section through theldevice.

closed position.

The invention is intended mm nwmew caps for the tops of collapsible tubes and to facilitate the opening and closing of the tubes. The tube, indicated generally at '1, has an elongated oval-shaped cover 2 secured there- Y to, (See Figure 5) The cover is preferably made out of stamped sheet metal, although it can be made of other materials if'desired without departingfrom the spiritandscope of my invention, 1 1

The cover 2 is provided with an'outlet opening 3', that has its top inclined with respect to thep'lane of the cover. "A wire t has a bent portion 5' rotatably received in a sleeve 6, See-Figure 3), carried by the cover 2, and this wire has one end bentinto a ring 'Z-and receives a cap 8 that is designed tosnugly fit over the outlet'opening 3. If desired, the cap 8 can be lined with cork 9. The'ring portion? is inclined at the-same .angle as the top of the outlet opening 3 so that the cap will form a tight closure when it is swung into The other end of the wire 4: is formed into i an elongated handle 10 that isreceived' between two projectionsll and 12, (See Figure 3), when the handle is in closed position. The projections 11 and 12 form a notch 13 for: receiving'the handle 10. I

Thesleeve 6, acting as a bearing for the wire 4:, is inclined at the same angle as the top of the outlet opening 3. The device From the foregoing description of the va rious parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show the cap 8 in closed position. Yielding pressure is maintained on the cap 8 because the spring handle 10 has been forced into thenotch 13 and the tendency of the handle is toswing deeper into 9 the notchJ'This, of course, is prevented by the wall of the notch, and the result is a spring pressure ebearlng on the cap.

I When it is desired to open the tube in order a.

to squeeze therefrom tooth paste, shaving cream, etc., the handle: 10 is lifted from the notch 13, the'spring'wirepermitting this, r

and then itis swung down over the body of the tube through anarc of substantially f degrees. This will swing the cap 8 into the position shown in Figure 4 and the outlet opening 3 will be uncovered. The angle of' the pivoted portion 5 with respect to the plane of the cover 2 causes the handle 10 to swing away from the body of the tube 1 when the handle is moved into open position, and in this way, the handle'clears the body of the tube. After use, the handle is again swung back into the notch 13, andthis movement causes the cap 8 to again cover the mouth 3 of the tube. The length of the arm 10 provides sufficient spring tension to cause the cap 8 to yieldingly engage with the end of the outlet opening 3. The device is extremely simple in construction and provides a quick way of opening and closing the tube.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

I. A collapsible tube having an elongated cover provided with an opening having an upstanding rim, a sleeve, anda notclntheslleeve being disposed between the opening and the notch, a wire having a portion pivotally mounted in the sleeve, one end of the wire carrying a cap designed to close the opening and receive the rim, and the other end constituting a handle and being received in the notch. 1

2. A cover for a collapsible tube, said cover having an outlet opening with an upstanding rim, the top ofthe rim being inclined with respect to the plane of the cover, a lever, said cover having a bearing for the lever, said bearing being inclined at the same angle as the rim of the outlet opening, a cap carried by one end of the lever for closing the opening, the other end of the lever constituting a handle and swingable in a plane at right angles to the axis of the bearing, whereby the body of the tube is cleared duringvthe swinging movement. 1

3. A cover for a tube having an outlet opening with an upstanding rim having an inclined top, a lever carrying a cap and being pivoted to the cover at the same angle as the angle of the rimtop, saidcover having a notch for receiving the end of the lever, this end being moved transversely a slight distance to be received in the notch.

DONALD E. DUNLOP. 

